When it comes to skin care, there's not really a brand I can think of that gets more recognition for the quality of its products than Dermalogica. As a budget beauty blogger, I can't help but notice that Dermalogica is on the pricier side of the skin care spectrum but with that being said, I'm not against high-end products by any means, I just expect them to perform better than their lower priced counterparts.

After hearing so many good things about Dermalogica products in general, I've been growing ever more curious and eager to try a product or two from them. But given that Dermalogica is a brand that offers a wide variety of not only individual products, but also entire skin care systems targeted towards specific skin care concerns, choosing just one or two products from a wealth of appealing possibilities is not an easy task! When there are a lot of potential products to choose from, it's always nice to be able to test out several products of interest before making any final decision to commit to a particular product.

Dermalogica clear start breakout clearing cooling masque

Earlier this year, I was struggling with some serious acne breakouts and my experiences have left me on a mission to discover more skin care products that can reduce both the frequency and severity of my acne breakouts as much as possible. The Clear Start Breakout Clearing Cooling Masque from Dermalogica appealed to me as it sounds just the sort of product that my skin could potentially benefit from.

The mask claims to soothe irritation and clear skin. It contains 2% salicylic acid as the active ingredient so I would say that the skin clearing claims seem to be justified. My skin responds very well to salicylic acid and if I use products that contain enough of it, often enough, my skin clears up and I only get the occasional breakout. This mask also contains camphor which is probably what gives it the lovely cooling, soothing menthol sensation on the skin together with the aloe vera which is cooling and good at reducing redness / irritation.

Something else that really strikes me about this face mask is the phenomenal range of quality ingredients that reads almost like something from a recipe book rather than the back of a beauty product! For instance, it contains rosemary, thyme, tumerick, basil, aloe vera and liquorice.

This face mask has a gel-like texture that is lightweight and easily absorbed. A thin, slightly sticky veneer is all that remains on the skin until it is rinsed off. There is a distinct menthol / herbal type of fragrance to this face mask that is very reminiscent of Vicks VapoRub. Personally, this is a fragrance that I enjoy but it may be a little bit off-putting for some people.

I think that this face mask does a good job of managing current acne breakouts, reducing the incidence of future breakouts as well as soothing and refreshing irritated skin. I can't really say how well this mask works with continued use but based on my first impressions from the couple of sample sachets I've tried, I would say it would more than likely be very useful for keeping skin clear in the long run, especially for those of us who already know that our skin responds well to a salicylic acid.

The Dermalogica Clear Start Breakout Clearing Cooling Mask is available from Pure Beauty.